J&K High Court upholds bribery conviction of bank manager Daleep Kumar Bhat

The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh on 5 November 2026 upheld the bribery conviction of Daleep Kumar Bhat, then manager of the Pargwal branch of Jammu Rural Bank (J&K Grameen Bank), who was caught in a 2010 trap accepting Rs 5,000 to release a loan instalment. The court reduced his jail term from two years to one year for each offence and ordered him to surrender within one month.

What Happened

According to the prosecution case recorded in the judgment, a borrower had been sanctioned a loan of Rs 1 lakh by the bank and had received a first instalment of Rs 35,000. For releasing the second instalment of Rs 65,000, the manager demanded Rs 7,000 and later agreed to Rs 5,000, the complaint alleged. The Vigilance Organization, Jammu laid a trap on 14 June 2010 at the borrower's shop, and the marked notes were recovered from the manager's back pocket, the judgment records.

On 18 February 2017 the Special Judge, Anti-Corruption, Jammu convicted him under Section 5(1)(d) read with Section 5(2) of the Jammu & Kashmir Prevention of Corruption Act and Section 161 of the Ranbir Penal Code. The trial court sentenced him to two years of simple imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 for each offence, to run concurrently.

On appeal, the defence argued that the complaint was false and a key witness had turned hostile. The High Court held that the evidence of demand, acceptance and recovery of the bribe was "cogent and convincing" and found no ground to interfere with the conviction. Because the trial took about six years and the appeal stayed pending for nine years, it cut the jail term to one year for each offence. The fine of Rs 10,000 for each offence stays.

What It Means

The ruling confirms that a bank official who asks for money to release a sanctioned loan can be convicted on the evidence of a trap, even when one witness turns hostile. If he does not surrender within a month, the trial court will take coercive steps.

A borrower asked for a bribe by an official can report it to the state anti-corruption bureau; Oquilia's guide to every state's helpline is at https://www.oquilia.com/report-a-bribe.

Source: High Court judgment